There’s more poetry about Istanbul than I was aware of.
Only after I had finished my recent series of poems centred on Istanbul, its region and history, did I discover two published poets who have a long association with the city.
One is Richard Tillinghast. He has a website at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rwtill/ where some of his writings appear (in particular a poem called Ars Poetica which is full of rich historical allusions as well as contemporary comment).
The other is John Ash. I can’t find any of his poems online but I’ve been reading his collection “In the Wake of the Day”, published by Carcanet Press with a site at http://www.carcanet.co.uk/ . His poems seem to me to occupy the border zone of poetry and prose, but (or do I mean ‘and’?) are full of local atmosphere.
I was well aware of the Byzantium poems by WB Yeats. You can’t ignore those.
Poetry from John Looker 
You’re in good company then John. Do you feel a little lost now the series is done? I’m sure that they will always stand the test of time you know. A perfect album.
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By: Narnie on 7 May, 2011
at 19:58
That’s very generous of you, Kiersty. Actually I was ready for something new, and fortunately have several ideas in mind on different themes.
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By: John Stevens on 8 May, 2011
at 09:49
Thanks for the tips.
I’ve been to Istanbul many times – and the city is so enormous, there’s always something new to discover.
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By: rabirius on 16 May, 2016
at 11:01
It’s a remarkable historic city, isn’t it? Thank you for taking time to explore my poems.
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By: John Looker on 16 May, 2016
at 12:59